Last week was an interesting regarding my experience with new media from both a theoretical understanding as well as from a consumption point of view. Our reading for the week focused on the democratization nature of Web 2.0 that now makes it possible for people, both professionals and amateurs to create audio and video cultural products for entertainment on a global scale. End users are now able to create hybrid projects and post them online without having to go through gatekeepers in the traditional sense of the word. In this context, the information and communication space have been opened up to anyone who can access the Internet.
Most of the audio video projects posted are not entirely new as creators take different cultural bits and create a new whole. This process is clearly explained by Manovich when he talks about the concept of remixing. The Internet speeds up the creation and availability of information emerging from different sources or information paths. Thus the power of the Web 2.0 lies in its ability to handle the multiplicity of the streams of information generated by end users. I found myself taking first steps to create my own piece of video projects to post on online. As part of my assignment, I created my own Youtube account and I working on my first video piece that I want to post. My first video should be on the site by the end of the week.
New Media and Euro 2008
Popularly known as Euro 2008, the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship is underway in Switzerland and Austria. UEFA stands for Union of European Football Association. It is the 13th edition of the UEFA European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European nations. The tournament began on 7 June 2008 and is scheduled to conclude with the final in Vienna on 29 June 2008. Sixteen teams are participating in the tournament.
What is interesting about this tournament is how new media techniques have been embraced and are being used to inform fans worldwide about the results of the games played. The dominant techniques are blogging and text messaging. The BBC webpage has blogs that are specifically focusing on the tournament, providing analysis of the teams, players, and the games played. The daily blogs are detailed and update. Usually entries are made prior to the games where focus is on players, teams and possible formations for the individual teams. Soon after the games, new entries are made and most of these entries focus on analysis of the games – what went well and bad for both the winners and losers. What I found most interesting are the text messages by fans when they are watching the game. They text to BBC about anything of interest regarding the game being played and the texts are published on the BBC website. Off course there are gatekeepers who decides what to publish and what not to from the texts submitted.
